AUSTIN — State Rep. Naomi Gonzalez said her primary loss Tuesday night came as a surprise, but she refused to complain about it.

Gonzalez was left behind as her two challengers go to a May 27 runoff. Cesar Blanco took 44 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results, while former Rep. Norma Chavez got 29 percent and Gonzalez got 27 percent.

Gonzalez faces a drunken driving charge after being arrested in Austin last year, perhaps prompting Blanco and Chavez to challenge her. But as she walked House District 76 during the campaign, "no one really brought it up," Gonzalez said. "The issues people had with it were really from the media."

Mark Jones, chairman of the Rice University Political Science Department, said the arrest was a factor in Gonzalez' loss. She is respected among her colleagues, but she's a relative newcomer, having defeated Chavez in 2010.

"She didn't enjoy the longstanding incumbency that some legislators enjoy," Jones said, adding that she received support from groups such as Texans for Lawsuit Reform that primarily support Republicans. "Throw in the DWI and that wrecks her candidacy."

Gonzalez said the results on Election Night came as a genuine surprise. She said she received lots of help with her campaign and the voters she spoke to were very supportive.

"We're a little befuddled by the results," she said.

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However, she said, she didn't wake up Wednesday feeling like a loser.

"You have to be thankful for the people who supported you and stuck by you," she said. "I can't feel like a loser with the people I'm surrounded by."

She said she's proud of her achievements in the Legislature, including being named Freshman of the Year in 2011 and having one of the highest rates of passing legislation that she introduced.

A 35-year-old attorney, Gonzalez said she would take some vacation before deciding what's next and whether that includes another try at elective office. However, she said, self pity won't be part of her reflections.

"I can't complain about my life," she said.

Gonzalez also did not take a stand Wednesday in the race between the candidates vying to be her successor.

"Neither one at this point has asked me to endorse them," she said.

Blanco, 37, finished Tuesday night 15 percentage points ahead of Chavez. He also has shown the ability to raise hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions while Chavez largely funded her campaign herself.

Jones said Blanco has the advantage because of both of those reasons – along with the fact that Blanco will face a 14-year legislator whose career was marked by controversy.

"Blanco is very well positioned," Jones said, noting that he most recently was chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego. "He's very well respected in the Texas political community."

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